Dr. Gicharu calls on the government to create a bloggers academy to tap on their skills.

MKU founder and Chairman Dr. Simon Gicharu introducing one of the 4,540 graduants, Starehe MP Charles Njagua Kanyi alias Jaguar to the audience at the Graduation Pavilion Grounds along the Thika- Garissa Road on Friday.

Mount Kenya
University (MKU) founder and Chairman Dr. Simon Gicharu has challenged the Ministry of Public
Service, Youth and Gender Affairs to establish a bloggers institute
that will tap the talents and skills of the youth currently engaging in
blogging.

While speaking
during the university’s 15th Graduation Ceremony at their Graduation
Pavilion Grounds along the Thika- Garissa Road on Friday, Dr. Gicharu said
he was saddened by the manner leaders and especially politicians misused and later
dumped these young people immediately they were done with their mission.

He noted that it was
for this reason that the same youth turned against these leaders and started
using the same platforms to hit back.

“I feel very sad
when we use young people to do our work especially politicians and business
people and once we finish with them we just leave them. When again they start
hitting back through their blogs, we demand for their arrest. Gagging them is
not really the solution. The government should go beyond and create an institution
or an academy of bloggers so that we can be able to tap into the innovation of
these young people instead of harassing them,” he said.

The chairman also
challenged the youth and especially those graduating from various learning
institutions against the culture of wanting to get rich very quickly because it
is ruining careers of so many youth in the country and landing some of them in
jail.

“Let us not destroy
our institutions because of greed. We should build them. We should deviate from
this idea of getting rich quickly. You can start small and grow rich,” he said.

Gicharu promised to
strengthen the institution’s incubation centres to enable their students to
commercialise their inventions. He added that they will connect these students
with financial institutions that will support such projects.

In a bid to support
the Kenyan government in its quest to provide Universal Health Care, he said
that MKU will award 10 scholarships to students at their College of Health
Sciences. He challenged other universities to follow suit and support the
government in this noble course

The chief guest Professor Chacha
Nyaigotti-Chacha challenged universities to promote research and innovation so
as to catalyse growth in the local and global markets.

Chacha, who is the Chairman of
the Kenyan Commission for University Education (CUE), challenged the
graduants to utilise the knowledge and skills learnt to venture in creation of
jobs rather that toiling in search of white collar jobs.

Starehe MP Charles
Njagua Kanyi alias Jaguar and his Jomvu counterpart Badi Twalib were among the 4,540
students graduated in various faculties.

Jaguar graduated with a degree in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution while Twalib did Bacheror of Business Management.

Another notable graduant
was Chief Francis Kariuki from Lanet Umoja, Nakuru North sub-county, the
globally recognised “Tweeting chief” is known for embracing technology.